Frequently Asked Questions

SmartADHD is a programme of research being conducted in partnership with people with lived experience of ADHD, healthcare professionals, and digital experts. We are working together to co-develop, initially evaluate and implement evidence-based digital resources and tools to support positive management of ADHD in young people. We have a strong focus on tailoring our interventions (such as the SmartADHD app and chatbot) to be suitable for use in NHS settings, and accessible to diverse young people.

The SmartADHD programme of research follows principles of person-centred design, agile product development, and co-production, and has three areas of focus:

1. Public and patient engagement (PPIE) throughout the research cycle
2. High quality research cycles of co-design, testing, and iterative development
3. Rigorous reporting of methods and findings: sharing knowledge in ways that will help improve healthcare for people with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental differences
4. Developing sustainable digital solutions optimised for implementation within the NHS.

Digital healthcare interventions, if developed alongside people with lived experience of neurodiversity, have the potential to improve healthcare for young people with ADHD while being cost-effective for the NHS, and inclusive for currently underserved groups. Young people and primary care professionals have told us that they would value a healthcare app, prescribed via primary care, that provides trusted and curated healthcare information and self-management support.

Our recently completed systematic review confirms that currently no healthcare app exists for young people with ADHD that meets NHS quality standards. By working together with young people with ADHD, healthcare professionals, and digital experts, and harnessing learning from existing research, we aim to co-create an app that will improve usual care for ADHD in an engaging and accessible way.

Research tells us that while digital tools have the potential to improve healthcare for ADHD at scale, there are also risks that some people will find them difficult to access. So, in addition to making sure that in-person support and printed information remains available, we are exploring ways of helping as many young people as possible access digital healthcare.

Early evidence shows that a chatbot, designed to provide information in different languages, and at different levels of complexity, could help to improve digital accessibility, and include people from underserved groups. For example, young people for whom English is not their first language, and those with different communication needs. We will be working together to explore how a chatbot can help address risks of digital exclusion.

Currently, AI will be contained to the chatbot as one tool or section of the app. This means that we are not using AI for the rest of the app or to create information. The chatbot (like you might see on your energy supplier’s website), will condense information from specially-selected evidence-based sources, tailored to the needs of the user, for example being able to translate the information into different languages.

Other uses of AI for the app have been suggested by our lived experience collaborators, such as using AI to provide a summary of a page of information or customising how the information is presented based on user preferences and information. Together with our research advisory groups, we are exploring the potential benefits and risks of integrating AI into healthcare delivery for young people with ADHD, as a part of this programme of research.

SmartADHD has grown directly from the priorities of people with experience of living with ADHD, and the healthcare professionals who support them. The SmartADHD programme of research follows principles of co-production and is guided by lived experience (LE) and healthcare professional (HP) Research Advisory Groups (RAGs) and Working Groups (WGs).

• Our RAGs meet regularly to consult on research priorities, feedback on research design and help share findings. The LE-RAG is made up of people with lived experience of ADHD. The HP-RAG is made up of healthcare professionals.
• Our WGs meet flexibly, and as needed, to support project delivery. They contribute to the research in many ways. Working group members may, for example, provide input via creative co-design workshops, trialling prototypes, and brainstorming on neuro-affirmative language and design.

The background MAP study research was approved by the Health Research Authority (HRA) and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW). Yorkshire & The Humber – Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee (REC) (Reference: 22/YH/0132). ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT05518435. Details of ethical approval for delivery of the next phases of this programme of research will be provided here once they are in place.

The SmartADHD programme of research is co-located between the Exeter Collaboration for Primary Care (APEx), and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Research Collaboration (ChYMe) and being conducted as part of Exeter’s Science of ADHD and Neurodevelopment (SAND) collaboration.

This programme builds on findings from a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Three Schools Mental Health Fellowship, held by Dr Anna Price, (MHF008) between 2021-2024, and an NIHR School for Primary Care Research Grant (SPCR640). SmartADHD projects are funded via multiple sources, including the NIHR, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Research Councils, and the University of Exeter.

• NIHR Advanced Fellowship (305363), Dr Anna Price: “Co-development, initial evaluation, and implementation of a digital health intervention, for young people (aged 16-25) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including optimisation for sustainable delivery via health and social care settings: building research capacity to improve access to healthcare for people with neurodevelopmental conditions”.
• NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award (DSE304122), Dr Anna Price
• UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) LEAP Digital Health Hub (LEAP7104): “Co-developing a multilingual AI-powered virtual assistant, to increase engagement with the CareADHD app for young people aged 16-25 with ADHD: reducing health inequalities during transition.”
• UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) Studentship Award (680000281), Becky Coniam-Gudka: “Understanding and addressing health inequalities in accessing digital healthcare for digital healthcare for minoritized young people with ADHD: A mixed methods study”
• University of Exeter (UoE), PPIE Funding, Exeter Innovation. “Understanding experiences of being on a neurodevelopmental waiting list”